Once Upon a Time
by MidnightRosebud
Summary: Kaizoku sentai Gokaiger. Are fairytales only childhood dreams? After her encounter with the unlikeliest ragtag group of people, Ahim de Famille wondered if reality didn't more closely resemble her adventures of old than she had originally believed.


**Author's Note:** My first attempt at writing a story for _Kaizoku sentai Gokaiger. _And my first at writing a fanfic before the original storyline is complete. Constructive Criticism is always welcomed.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Kaizoku sentai Gokaiger or her characters. Nor do I own the lyrics to "Like Other Girls."_

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><p>Once Upon a Time<p>

_The life of a princess, from her birth is well defined. _

_She must humbly serve her country. Play the part she's been assigned. _

_She guards the hopes of her people, weak and mighty, rich and poor. _

_Who could ever ask for more?_

...

Ahim de Famille had grown up on fairytales of fabulous adventures. In the vivid texts and rich illustrations she found heart-stopping tales of princesses experiencing unimaginable danger, courage in the face of adversity, stumbling (sometimes literally) into the arms of their prince charming, true love's first kiss, and living happily ever after. Her imagination ran wild with infinite possibilities that the seemingly endless world could provide in how her life as a princess could be.

Her parents hid their smiles as she would merrily design her life's course, and how it would change with each new story she read. One day she would declare that she was going to help fight dragons, the next she would befriend them. The following day she would forget dragons completely in favor of being tutored by a great wizard who would teach her magic spells, only to be followed by stating that wizards were the bad guys (apparently they didn't get along with her friendly dragons). She would dream of dancing until midnight in crystal slippers, becoming a fairy with her own set of wings, fighting alongside her band of wild friends as they fought the injustice of the poor and downtrodden, befriending a hideous creature who was not whom he seemed, or falling under an enchanted curse.

The possibilities were limitless. However, all of her tales ended with a kiss from her true love and riding off into the sunset. Her stories kept her parents and the rest of her kingdom's staff well-entertained. With such a lively imagination, just who would their princess grow up to be?

As uncontrollable as her dreams, Ahim was spirited in all facets of her childhood. If it weren't for the frilly dresses, some wondered, would they even recognize the dark-haired little girl who ran for all she was worth from one end of her estate to the next chasing the images of her imagination? Her mother grew exasperated in trying to contain her daughter's irrepressible nature. But neither she nor her husband had the heart to curb their daughter's zest for life. So when Ahim eagerly asked if she could learn how to fight with a sword, her parents decided to come to a compromise.

Ahim would be allowed to learn how to fence (and really, they saw the logic in this as how could a princess ever expect to know how to protect her country if she did not even know how to defend herself?). In exchange, Ahim would learn proper conduct; tea ceremony, mannerisms, and speech on top of her other education of History, Language, etc.

While originally adverse to the idea of taking more lessons and classes on how to be a "proper" princess, Ahim's desire to learn swordsmanship was too great. She finally caved in. To her surprise, however, she discovered that many of her new classes were not as much as a burden as she had originally presumed.

She discovered her love of tea (much to her mother's approval), and willing began to race off to her lessons without her father having to give any more stern reminders. With this in mind, her parents devised a way to incorporate her proper conduct, dress, speech, and mannerisms into her tea classes and they were able to eliminate any remaining feet dragging episodes on the subjects.

As Ahim grew, her tea ceremony classes fashioned her into the "proper" sort of princess that everyone had idealized from the time she had been born. At the same time, Ahim was still able to release her dreams and desires in her fencing classes; imagining every adventure she had ever read as she clashed with her real opponents. And while she still fantasized about finding her soul mate in the form of her adoring prince, reality too began to set in.

Certainly her parents wanted nothing more than for their daughter to have all the blessings of happiness in her marriage, but Ahim also knew that her marriage would most likely be a political one. While she originally rebelled at the idea, she eventually grew to accept it.

As she began to come of age and suitors started to show up on her front door step, Ahim used her tea ceremony class' lessons to their full effects. She dressed and acted like the proper princess she was, hiding her true emotions through soft, polite words and gentle smiles. Every proposal she received was met with a refusal so mild, regretful, and full of concern for the other, that the young man and his family could not even think to press her further or consider the thought to ask her to reconsider.

After several of these, her parents began to inquire Ahim about her rejections. Ahim would merely shrug and say she was not entirely sure herself, only that he wasn't the right one. She was waiting for someone else. This left her poor parents in complete befuddlement as their daughter would look up into the sky with a faraway look. They could only wonder if perhaps she had met someone already and was waiting for his return.

But they never got the chance to find out.

Before they could so much as blink, the Zangyack Empire was upon them. And after a terrific struggle that shook the planet to its core, the Zangyack overthrew Ahim de Famille's planet and her parent's rule, destroying everything that had once been bright and beautiful in her world.

Even with all the skills she had learned, she had been utterly defenseless.

She had lost everything. Her parents, her home, her kingdom, her planet, her entire life and future. And like a damsel in distress she was rescued from the chaos and screams of the dying, burning, and horror.

She had failed to defend what she had sworn she would protect.

The feeling of sheer powerlessness had been overwhelming and devastating. She had never felt so shattered and lost than on the day of her planet's demise. And if it hadn't been for the unlikeliest of people, Ahim herself would not even be alive to remember the day.

Pirates.

Of all the people to come to her aid, it had been a handful of pirates. The very kinds of people that her books had always said were the antagonists against whom the heroine must defend.

Her world tilted as she watched her world crumble into ashes, dust, and forgotten memories. Memories that were now lost for eternity except for what she alone could remember.

She lost everything except what had been taught to her. But what good were her lessons of justice and defense, tea ceremonies and proper conduct here? Here on this ship of a ragtag bunch of pirates whose only desires were their own. Here in the boundless reaches of cold, dark space.

But with her lessons of proper conduct and mannerisms, she used her skills of hiding her true thoughts behind her polite words and smiles and observed the crew that had taken her upon their ship. And through her watchful eye she discovered that this Captain Marvelous, his first mate Joe Gibken, Luka Millfy, and Don Dogoier were more than who they seemed.

They played the role of pirates well, but each was an orphan or outcast (or both) from their own planets, just like her. Each of them had a dream, a desire that burned brightly in every action that they made, and yearned for nothing more than to see that dream fulfilled.

Captain Marvelous, for all his talk and swagger, would never turn a blind eye to anyone who asked for help. He went full-force behind every decision he made, but took the time to study the consequences to others before acting. He was fiercely protective of his crew, and wore the brand of "pirate" with a sense of pride and dignity.

Joe Gibken was nothing if not quiet, but exceedingly loyal to his captain. Ahim could never imagine a mutiny in this crew with Joe as the first mate. His skills with a sword created a strength and beauty Ahim could do nothing but admire. She wasn't a bad hand at fencing on her home planet by any stretch of the mind, but next to Joe, she felt inadequate. She wouldn't hesitate to say that his skills even surpassed Marvelous' and not too many she had met could say that. His quiet demeanor coupled well with his respect for those around him, and though he wouldn't voice it, she knew he was always watching out for them. Apparently chivalry was not dead, but only hidden from those who did not take the time to see.

Luka Millfy was the opposite of Ahim in so many ways. She was outspoken and vibrant with an energy Ahim hadn't expressed fully in herself since she was a child. Quick with both her words and her sword, Ahim was at first overwhelmed by the other young woman's manner. But underneath Luka's boisterous nature was a compassionate and strong person who did not hesitate to correct injustice or protect those dear to her with a ferocity that Ahim could only watch in awe.

Don Dogoier or "Hakase" as his crew affectionately called him was a bit of a puzzle to her at first. The first three Ahim could easily see as a pirate, but Hakase seemed like he would have been more content to run in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could carry him from any type of danger. But as she watched, she saw his acute intelligence seem to blossom in his element as he designed weapons and plans to escape even the seemingly impossible of nets. While unorthodox, Hakase's fighting style saved himself and others out of a fair number of scraps, and his astute observances of his crewmates ensured that every one was as healthy and fit as was humanly possible. Even if he did still tend to panic and hide behind someone else when danger approached, he never turned his back on his fellow shipmates.

As they all grew to know her, and she them, Ahim de Famille discovered that she was accepted by this crew as exactly who she was. They did not expect her to abandon what remained from her planet, and instead respected her for her polite manners and diplomacy that saved them all from a couple of unneeded scrapes with the law on other planets. Her love and respect for her tea ceremonies became a ritual of familiarity to the others - a sort of routine that brought back a sense of tranquility, peace, and grace to an otherwise unconventional bunch of pirates.

She discovered too that, while so much had been lost to her, not all was forgotten. Her childhood dreams and desires began to surface and take shape once more.

Just as in those fairytales of old, Ahim discovered that things and people were not always who they seemed from the outside. The beautiful queen could be the ugly witch, a dragon could be your best friend, and the hideous beast could be hiding the gentlest heart. So too could the band of outlaws be the ones who were truly seeking justice for those who were unable to obtain it for themselves. Why hadn't she seen it before? She had read it time and time again in her stories; imagined it as she ran through her home chasing after the "true" bad guys.

While this group of young men and woman were branded pirates, at times it seemed in name only as more often than not they involved themselves in someone else's dilemma, often coming off the worse themselves.

And like those princesses from her story, Ahim discovered that she too could face unimaginable dangers, but find the strength and courage within her to protect not only herself but those around her, to face her challenges head-on, to never give up, and to struggle, and just perhaps, come out on top.

She was living the adventures she had always imagined she would be. True, it hadn't come about in the way she would have expected. And she had lost so much. But she hadn't lost everything.

She had lost her parents, her home, and her country, but she had gained a tight-knit new family, her _nakama_, that she knew she would defend and protect at any cost, be it in the words slung against them or the weapons thrown at them.

She didn't know if she would ever find her "prince charming" anymore, but what she did know, was that there was a certain first mate who had certainly caught her eye. True, according to her fairytales he wasn't the "hero." In fact, he was an ex-soldier of the very army that had destroyed her world, but he just might be able to bring her that happiness in the way she had always dreamed of as a child.

And she had all but given up on "true love's first kiss," but if he did return her feelings, then that first kiss might just be the magic and wonder she had always sought. That would be enough for her.

With her new _nakama_, Ahim de Famille was ready to carve out her little piece of happily ever after.


End file.
